The subject invention relates to vehicle latches and mounting pins associated with the latches for securing the latches together and to corresponding frames of a vehicle.
Latches are frequently utilized in vehicles for a variety of applications, such as to secure a door, trunk, hatch or hood. The latches typically include a housing enclosing latching and releasing mechanisms. The housing is sandwiched between inner and outer plates which each have a plurality of apertures disposed therein. The inner and outer plates are welded or otherwise attached to the housing such that the corresponding apertures are aligned. The housing is mounted to a vehicle frame by suitable fasteners, such as threaded bolts, which pass through corresponding apertures.
Examples of known latch mounting configurations are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,281,478; 5,172,946; 5,308,129 and 5,328,219. These designs require that the housing be completely assembled without the fasteners and then incorporate the fasteners during the mounting of the latch. In addition, added space within the housing is needed in order to accommodate the subsequently added mounting bolts.
An improved design utilizes mounting bolts as pivot points for various components where the mounting bolts also act to hold the housing together. In other words, the latching and releasing mechanisms disposed within the housing utilize the area that the bolts travel through the housing as pivot points.
An example of this prior art design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,495. A sleeve is provided within the housing which defines the pivot point. The bolt passes through the sleeve and interconnects the inner and outer plates. In particular, the outer plate has a threaded portion which receives the bolt. This design is advantageous in that separate pivot pins may not be required, the space occupied by the bolts is utilized and the housing is held together by the bolts themselves. However, the design requires that the outer plate have threaded apertures to interlock the inner and outer plates to the housing. In addition, the latch must be mounted to the vehicle by additional mounting bolts. Hence, this design requires additional manufacturing steps to make and mount the latch.
Another example of a prior art latch design is disclosed in FIGS. 6 and 7. Again, a sleeve 10 is provided within a housing which may define a pivot point. The sleeve 10 is be flared at either end to secure inner 12 and outer 14 plates to the housing. A bolt 16 is then partially threaded into the sleeve 10 to retain the bolt 16 to the latch during shipping. Upon arrival on the assembly line, the latch is presented to a mounting frame 18 of a vehicle and the bolt 16 is extended beyond the sleeve 10 to mount the housing as shown in FIG. 7. This design is likewise advantageous in that separate pivot pins may not be required and the space occupied by the bolts 16 is utilized. This design, however, requires that the sleeve 10 be separately press fit to the housing to hold the inner 12 and outer 14 plates to the housing. In addition, the mounting bolts 16 are separately mounted through to the sleeves 10. Hence, this design also requires additional parts and manufacturing steps to make and mount the latch. Additionally, this fastening configuration is over designed for the rigors of shipping a typical latch from the manufacturing facility to a vehicle assembly plant.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop a latch incorporating an integral mounting pin which secures the plates and housing of the latch together, acts as a pivot point for interior latch components and also secures the latch to a vehicle. Further, the latch should not suffer from the deficiencies outlined above such that the latch is made of fewer parts and is easier to assemble and install.
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a latch and mounting pin assembly comprising a latch housing having an inner side and an opposing outer side. An inner plate abuts the inner side and has at least one aperture. An outer plate similarly abuts the outer side opposite the inner plate and has at least one aperture aligned with the aperture of the inner plate. At least one mounting pin, having first and second distal ends, extends through the apertures. A head is disposed on the first distal end of the pin for abutting the outer plate. The assembly is characterized by the mounting pin having an enlarged barrel portion extending from the head to a shoulder with the shoulder abutting the inner plate to orient the outer plate relative to the inner plate.
Accordingly, the subject invention includes a mounting pin which can be a pivot point for the latch components, can hold the inner and outer plates against the housing and also provides mounting locations for the latch. In other words, the subject latch and pin assembly holds the latch together for shipping and provides a fastening portion for securing the latch to a vehicle. The subject invention is also of a compact design which is easily and efficiently manufactured and installed.